The cryptocurrency business is thriving, but many things are happening, including, Google Cloud partnering with Polygon Labs, Mastercard launching crypto credentials, Venom rolling out a public testnet for blockchain testing, and much more!
In this issue:
- Google Cloud partners with Polygon Labs to help grow the ecosystem.
- Mastercard launches crypto credentials to enhance trust in the blockchain.
- Venom rolls out a public testnet for blockchain testing.
- $168 million worth of $AVAX tokens will be unlocked on May 28.
- Hong Kong opens new opportunities by allowing crypto firms access to banks.
- Elon Musk introduces Twitter monetization avenues for content creators.
- LayerZero is now live on the zkSync Era mainnet, enabling across 30+ chains.
Before we continue with the newsletter, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter (@AltCryptoGems, @AltCryptoTalk) to stay up to date with everything crypto-related. Oh and don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter!
Are you looking to start trading Crypto? Get a 10% trading fee discount when you sign up to ByBit using my link!
Get up to $4150 deposit bonuses when registering using my link and depositing your first funds within 7 days (limited time only)! You’re also getting a 100% MAKER FEE discount for this MONTH ONLY!
Google Cloud partners with Polygon Labs to help grow the ecosystem.
Google Cloud partners with Polygon Labs to support Polygon blockchains, adding support for Polygon to its Blockchain Node Engine and building infrastructure to support Polygon zkEVM.
Google Cloud will add support for Polygon to its Blockchain Node Engine, which currently only supports Ethereum and Solana. Google Cloud will also build infrastructure to support Polygon zkEVM, a new blockchain within the Polygon ecosystem. By the end of Q3, Google Cloud will help developers deploy application-specific blockchains built with Polygon tech on its servers.
As part of its extensive partnership with Polygon Labs, Google Cloud has announced a range of benefits for Polygon Ventures, including hosting credits on its servers and access to its Web3 startup program. Polygon developers will also receive similar benefits, while Google Cloud will tailor its infrastructure to suit Polygon’s ecosystem. Polygon’s impressive list of clients, which includes Starbucks and Mastercard, demonstrates its growing importance in the industry.
This partnership represents a significant expansion of Google Cloud’s engagement with blockchain protocols. It goes beyond the level of support provided to Celo developers under the existing Google for Startups Cloud Program. Despite the current regulatory climate and market conditions, Google Cloud’s increased focus on Web3 is clear. In the first half of 2022, it created digital assets and Web3 engineering teams and has since partnered with several labs and foundations to support a range of blockchains, including BNB Chain, Solana, Aptos, Tezos, Casper, and Celo.
The partnership with Polygon will help onboard more people into Web3 and minimize risk when exploring new possibilities in the industry.
Mastercard launches crypto credentials to enhance trust in the blockchain.
Mastercard, one of the world’s leading payment processors, has unveiled its latest innovation: the Mastercard Crypto Credential. This new technology will allegedly pave the way for trusted and compliant interactions on public blockchain networks, revolutionizing how users transact with cryptocurrencies.
As the popularity of crypto and blockchain continues to rise, so do concerns about security and compliance. That’s why Mastercard is taking a proactive approach, establishing a set of common standards and infrastructure to ensure trusted interactions among consumers and businesses on blockchain networks.
According to their recent release, the Mastercard Crypto Credential will enable different levels of verification depending on the market and compliance requirements, opening up a world of possibilities for businesses and consumers alike. From music NFTs to everyday transactions, the Mastercard Crypto Credential will provide the necessary enabling technology to bring these use cases to life.
Mastercard’s partners in this endeavor reportedly include Bit2Me, Lirium, Mercado Bitcoin, Uphold, and public blockchain network organizations Aptos Labs, Ava Labs, Polygon Labs, and The Solana Foundation. Together, they will collaborate to enhance verification in NFTs, ticketing, enterprise, and other payment solutions.
This is not Mastercard’s first foray into building trusted ecosystems to enable commerce. The company has been pioneering innovation in identity verification and global standards for years. With the Mastercard Crypto Credential, they are taking that expertise to the crypto and blockchain world. As the world becomes increasingly digitized, Mastercard’s commitment to enhancing trust and enabling further innovation is more critical than ever. With the Mastercard Crypto Credential, businesses and consumers can confidently transact, knowing their interactions are secure and compliant.
Venom rolls out a public testnet for blockchain testing.
Venom, a layer-1 blockchain licensed in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), has announced the launch of its public testnet.
The testnet allows developers and users to test and debug dapps and blockchain protocols, helping to foster innovation and community building within the ecosystem.
The Venom testnet ecosystem comes with a range of in-house features and applications, which includes the Venom Wallet, Venom Scan, VenomPools, Venom Bridge, and others, for users to test out. It aims to encourage developers to build innovative dapps while providing users with a first-hand experience of the Venom Blockchain.
To participate in the testnet, users can download the Venom Wallet on mobile via the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, or on the desktop as a Google Chrome extension. They can then claim a free testnet allocation to start exploring the ecosystem.
Venom boasts an ultra-fast speed of 100k TPS and a dynamic sharding feature that enhances scalability and network reliability, making it an attractive tool for developers. The network’s interoperability and low transaction fees were designed to make it user-friendly for global adoption.
$168 million worth of $AVAX tokens will be unlocked on May 28.
The latest unlocking of Avax tokens will take place in a month, releasing $168 million worth of tokens at the current price.
According to Token Unlocks, 9,541,800 Avax tokens will be unlocked on May 28. Considering that the token has a circulating supply of 327 million, the nearly 10 million Avax scheduled to be unlocked represents more than 3% of the current circulating supply.
Additionally, a total of over 361.25 million Avax tokens (more than half of the circulating supply) remain locked and will be gradually released over the next seven years.
Hong Kong opens new opportunities by allowing crypto firms access to banks.
Hong Kong regulators are pressing banks to offer critical services to cryptocurrency firms as part of a multifaceted effort to promote the city as an industry powerhouse.
With the pandemic gone, the Hong Kong economy is recovering speedily, and many newly created or abroad enterprises are eager to open bank accounts in Hong Kong to investigate commercial prospects.
Banks are speeding up the processing of account opening applications in response to increased demand. In effect, there have been increasing complaints about how difficult it is to get an account, with some claiming that banks would reject applications owing to anti-money laundering (AML) concerns and perceived high risks. To that purpose, the authorities have actively talked with banks in recent months, informing them that there is no legal or regulatory requirement banning Hong Kong banks from offering banking services to virtual (VA) linked organizations.
In a blog post signed by Arthur Yuen, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s deputy chief executive, the watchdog said it expected regulated virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to be able to successfully register for a bank account via a fair procedure.
According to Bloomberg, the HKMA indicated in a circular issued later that day that banks should assist licensed crypto companies with their legitimate demand for bank accounts. The statement also urged bankers to educate employees and develop specific teams to help the digital asset industry rather than taking a wholesale de-risking approach that excludes new businesses or nationalities. The operating permit includes certain special stipulations, according to which traders with a portfolio of fewer than $1 million are subject to various limitations under Hong Kong legislation.
Moreover, the new rules only enable investors to purchase and sell large-cap currencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). Yet, this is still seen as a significant step towards allowing cash to flow from Asia into the cryptocurrency market. The adjustments come after Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission said yesterday that it would issue rules on its crypto exchange licensing scheme in May.
Elon Musk introduces Twitter monetization avenues for content creators.
Adding to the growing list of radical implementations to improve Twitter’s bottom line and promote citizen journalism, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that creators on the social media platform can now monetize their content.
Ever since Musk’s takeover of Twitter, the company has taken several drastic measures to turn itself into a profitable business, which include mass layoffs and introducing Twitter Blue subscriptions. While many previously-verified individuals retaliated the ask for a monthly fee to get a ‘Blue checkmark’ on Twitter, Musk saw it as a much-needed revenue stream for the company.
The latest user-centric revamp which allows users to monetize all forms of posts on Twitter globally is targeted at improving follower engagement and creating new revenue streams on the social media platform.
The ‘Subscriptions’ feature allows Twitter users to charge followers a monthly price “from one of the price points made available by Twitter.” Once, paid, the subscribers get access to the creator’s exclusive content, unviewable in public.
Twitter will allow creators to keep up to 97% of the revenue until $50,000 in lifetime earnings, following which the revenue split will be dropped to 80% for the creators. The social media has partnered with payments processor Stripe to payout the creators on Twitter.
However, the revenue share will begin only after the users earn the minimum threshold of $50. The subscription services are non-refundable even if a creator’s Twitter account gets suspended for any reason. In such scenarios, users are required to manually unsubscribe to avoid auto-monthly payments to inactive Twitter accounts. Members of Crypto Twitter, who have garnered credibility and a massive following on Twitter owing to years of posting, welcome the introduction of content creator subscriptions with arms wide open.
Musk’s ongoing initiatives to redesign Twitter will also see the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to detect and deter misinformation on the social media platform.
LayerZero is now live on the zkSync Era mainnet, enabling across 30+ chains.
LayerZero launches on zkSync Era mainnet, offering messaging that enables dev building on zkSync to extend their app to 30+ chains. With the largest bug bounty program in the industry, LayerZero provides a secure platform for developers to build on.
LayerZero, an omnichain interoperability protocol, has been launched on the zkSync Era mainnet. The protocol offers a messaging system that enables developers building on zkSync to extend their application to over 30 supported chains.
Furthermore, projects that are already built on LayerZero can easily expand to zkSync. The protocol offers authentic and guaranteed message delivery with configurable trustlessness, allowing for lightweight message passing across chains.
LayerZero has committed to continuously evaluating and improving security, and as a result, it has the largest live bug bounty program in the industry with up to $15M. To date, LayerZero has awarded nearly $1M to white hats that have made disclosures. Additionally, a separate bug bounty of up to $2M exists specifically for The Aptos Bridge, which will eventually join the main program.
The launch of LayerZero on the zkSync Era mainnet is a significant development that will bring more flexibility and interoperability to the blockchain industry. The messaging protocol offered by LayerZero has the potential to increase the efficiency of cross-chain communication, enabling developers to build more complex and interconnected applications. With its commitment to security and the largest bug bounty program in the industry, LayerZero provides a secure and reliable platform for developers to build on.
Closing
That’s it for now! Thanks for reading today’s newsletter! Be sure to have a look at the Blog section to read our previous editions as well! Have a look at our Guides section if you’re interested in learning more about crypto! And finally, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter!
